Developing a Health-Promotion Program Based on the Action Research Paradigm to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Blue Collar Workers.

Won Ju Hwang,Jin Ah Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph16244958

Abstract

This study developed and evaluated a health management program based on the participant-centered concept of action research to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among blue collar workers. Data from structured questionnaires completed by 32 workers in a small-to-medium sized workplace from September 2015 to October 2016 as well as participants’ anthropometrical (weight and waist) and biological (blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol) data were analyzed using paired t-test and Fisher’s exact test. To examine the longitudinal effect of the intervention, survival analysis and linear mixed model (LMM) were used. There was an improvement in participants’ self-regulation in maintaining health-promoting behaviors, body weight, blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol following the intervention. Furthermore, the effects of the health management program continued even after the program ended. These findings suggest that the health management program developed in this study could be effective in reducing CVD risk factors among workers in small-to-medium sized workplaces and should be applied to other small-to-medium sized workplaces to foster health-promoting behaviors.

Highlights

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 12.8% of all causes of deaths worldwide and is the leading single cause of deaths [1]
Based on previous studies, which identified age as a risk factor for CVD, the mean age of the participants is high because the present study targeted workers with moderate to high CVD risk based on the Periodic Health Examination at workplaces
Considering the general attributes of workers in small-to-medium workplaces, who are on average older than those working in medium-to-large sized workplaces and office workers, public health professionals should recognize that workers in small-to-medium sized workplaces are at a high risk of CVD, which requires timely attention and risk management

Summary

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 12.8% of all causes of deaths worldwide and is the leading single cause of deaths [1]. In Korea, CVD mortality rate consistently increased over the last decade, indicating the need to manage the disease more efficiently. CVD mortality rate in Korean workers, in particular, increased from 37.5% in 2014 to 38.4% in 2015 [2], warranting the need for public health efforts to reduce CVD among workers in Korea. Small-to-medium sized workplaces, which employ 85% of all workers in Korea, are not required to have an in-house occupational health manager, and there is no legal provision mandating this for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees [3]. The health of workers in small-to-medium sized workplaces is not systematically managed by professional occupational health personnel. A previous study reported that CVD mortality rate in employees in small-to-medium workplaces is higher than those in large-scale workplaces [4].

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Discussion

Conclusion